3rd Appeal Rejected - Listing Price Violation
Hi everyone, I’ve had my 3rd appeal rejected. I don’t know what to do next. I sent an in depth POA. But the same thing is coming back. I have deleted the listing but still in Amazons email they are saying this “We observed that the price set on our offer still violates the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/G5TUVJKZHUVMN77V). Please adjust the offer price in compliance with the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy.” The two ASIN’s are listing violations which I can appeal to reactivate, in my account health page. Just unsure where to go next, I’ll add the correspondence below.
Dear Amazon UK Seller Performance
Thank you for the opportunity to appeal my seller account suspension due to violation of Amazons Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy. I understand that amazon takes this very seriously, especially during Covid 19 pandemic and once I realized what went wrong immediate action was taken.
The two recent suspension emails mentioned ‘Multi-Pack Pricing Abuse’. I’d like to clarify that ASIN: _ & _ are individual listings and there is no existing listing of these two as a multi-pack.
Why this happened?
- I was unaware that these listings were suppressed due to the ‘Fulfilled by Merchant’ price dropping as low as £32.10. I didn’t understand why they were suppressed and I mistakenly tried to reactivate each ASIN multiple times without significantly lowering the price.
- Before the pandemic we sold both from £33.99 to a maximum of £43.99. My prices at the time of suspension were priced at £41.99 and £42.99, which shows that I didn’t price gouge Amazon’s customers.
- Both ASINS’s were priced at those amounts because each costs £24.30 from a retailer, we use data software called ‘Keepa’ so we can accurately read price averages and a Prep Centre which costs £1.00 per product plus shipment.
- I understand that due to being bought from a retailer, our prices were higher than those outside of Amazon. The products retail at £27 outside of Amazons marketplace.
Action Taken: - I have now closed and deleted both ASIN listings on all Marketplaces I sell on.
- I have ceased buying from retailers, I will source from manufacturers or authorized distributors so I can make sure that my price is competitive with prices offered on and off Amazon.
- My inventory has been reviewed and every product complies with Amazons Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy and Minimum and Maximum Price Validation Policy.
Preventive Action: - Fair Pricing Policy. A product is only bought if it can be sold at the current buy box price & the average 90-day price. It is then entered into our Price Checking System spreadsheet for future reference.
- Price Checking System. A spreadsheet which shows the date, product name, our price, buy box price, checked by and any new policies or news. There are two steps to this system:
a. Once a product is live on Amazon, a check is made to ensure our price is at the buy box and it will be updated accordingly into the repricing software and the spreadsheet.
b. Daily price checks are in place for every active ASIN in our inventory. This includes Fix Price Alerts and if a product listing is suppressed we will significantly lower the price and if it remains suppressed the listing is closed and deleted - Wholesale Policy. I will only buy directly from the brand manufacturer or authorized distributors, this will allow me to have the best price on and off amazon.
- Amazon Policies and News System. This system is in place daily to regularly keep updated with any policy changes or news.
If reinstated I will use this suspension as a learning curve to be more alert to changes in listings and policies. All relevant invoices and documents are attached.
Hello,
Thank you for submitting your plan of action. We reviewed your appeal and determined that it is missing the following information. Please include the missing information listed below in your plan of action:
– We observed that the price set on our offer still violates the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gp/help/G5TUVJKZHUVMN77V). Please adjust the offer price in compliance with the Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy.
– Greater detail on the root cause(s) of the Price Gouging Violation.
– Greater detail on the actions you have taken to resolve the identified issues.
– Greater detail on the steps you have taken to prevent Price Gouging Violation going forward.
Has your account been deactivated in error?}
If you believe there has been an error, please tell us why. Your explanation should include the following information:
– How your listing(s) have not violated Amazons selling policies.
– How are you able to ensure you currently and in future do not violate Amazon Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy.
Where do I send this information?
Please click on the “View Appeal” button on your account health (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/performance/dashboard) in front of the specific ASIN Violation under the “Product & Policy Compliance” section and submit additional information as requested.
What happens if I do not send the requested information?
If we do not receive the requested information, the listing will remain removed and your account could be deactivated.
You can view your account performance (https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/performance/dashboard) or select Account Health on the home screen of the Amazon Seller app on your iOS or Android device. The Account Health dashboard shows how well your account is performing against the performance metrics and policies required to sell on Amazon.
– iOS: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/amazon-Seller/id794141485
– Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.amazon.sellermobile.android&hl…
Sincerely,
Sincerely,
Seller Performance Team
6 replies
Seller_BS5lg2keRs2QO
If nothing else you would really benefit from more clearly using the 3 sections they recommended rather than a long list.
You mention having bought from a retailer and that you no longer will - are any of your other products from a retailer? I only ask because you mention the rest of your inventory complies with the fair price policy, but not whether they were properly sourced.
Seller_hC0hNVDuILaKO
I have quoted these sections purely as an example.
They are vague generalizations and do not offer the specifics, the detail, that Amazon require.
You need to explain your processes, not simply say “we have processes”…
Do you think, for instance, that Amazon will read that above statement and think “Good, this is now sorted, we don’t need to worry about this seller contravening the rules again”, because I don’t think that will be their response.
Greater detail…
Not necessarily more words, just better detail.
Seller_9JevIYqFVdd9N
Hi @lhydee,
I understand from this post, your selling privileges have been removed due to violating Amazon’s Marketplace Fair Pricing Policy, as it relates to price gouging. I can understand your frustration over the situation and my aim with this post is to help you get your account reactivated.
I’m going to put some points across about the ways this situation can be remedied:
Please thoroughly examine your inventory to make sure all the products on your listings are compliant with our Fair Pricing Policies.
After reading your Plan of Action, I recommend you strengthen your preventative measures to ensure it correlates with the root issue. It is important to show that you have understood why your prices violated the Fair Pricing Policy and to demonstrate that you have clear steps to prevent future violations.
In your root cause, you can first state clearly if the prices that you set have indeed violated the fair pricing policy. If so, why? It is also important to offer a mathematical breakdown of the product cost and a clear reason why you believe the listing price gouged or not? What did you price your products at exactly? How much does this item normally sell for? What was its average price last year? Were you aware that the price you had it set at pushed beyond our acceptable threshold for pricing?
In your solutions, focus on the actions you took to resolve the issue. Deleting the flagged ASINs is a good step and we appreciate that you have done so. You’ve also mentioned you have reviewed the policy pages, keep this in your next appeal. It’s important to also mention any changes to your pricing strategy. What can you take away from this learning experience? Are there any other actions you took regarding these concerns?
Lastly for your preventive measures, it is important to address all the root causes you have identified and provide the specific steps you are implementing. Thank you for mentioning how regularly you will evaluate your price listings. How will you ensure you do not violate the pricing policy? What procedures will you follow while reviewing ASINs prior to listing on your account to prevent you from receiving a fair pricing violation notice? You mentioned you have a price checking system in place. As @Adrian mentioned this is vague. Could you please elaborate further on how that will be effective in making sure you do not violate our fair pricing policy again?
I hope this is helpful for your appeal. The forums community and I are here to help if you have additional questions.
Best,
Noah
